Nursing home resident dies after fall from window

This weekend, many families will take the opportunity to visit loved ones who live in a nursing home or assisted care facility. Spending the holidays with parents, grandparents and other elderly family members is a common way that families stay connected and involved with someone who may have physical or mental limitations. People in Connecticut may also choose to use this time to monitor the level of care their loved one is receiving and make sure there is no evidence of nursing home neglect.

People often struggle with the decision to admit an elderly or vulnerable person into these types of facilities. There are very real concerns that they will not be treated with dignity or receive the level of care they deserve which may result in their loved one suffering from a serious personal injury or worse. In many cases, nursing homes provide satisfactory support and medical assistance, but when they do not, staff members and facility operators should be held responsible.

Nursing home facilities should have adequate levels of properly trained staff members who regularly and safety interact with residents. Often times, these vulnerable patients suffer from mental deficiencies or physical limitations that make them partially or entirely dependent on the capabilities and assistance of staff members. If employees or facility operators fail to properly tend to patients, the consequences can be devastating.

Recently, an 88-year-old woman was admitted into a nursing home against her will. After a few days of being there, the woman fell out of a second-story window and was killed. Whether the woman was supposed to be under closer supervision by staff members or not remains unknown. It would make sense that a woman in her state should have been closely monitored and restricted from dangerous areas of the facility without supervision. If the facility or employees were negligent in taking precautions to protect this woman, it is possible that they could face serious criminal and civil penalties.